Each January, when the sartorial caper that is London Collections: MEN rolls around, it reminds me a little more of an Ealing Studios comedy; W1’s rain-slicked streets become a feverish caricature of British eccentricity, populated by earnest men in duster coats losing trilbies to gale-force winds, bespectacled likely lads, and the odd hapless egotist.

The AW15 circuit kicked off with a chance to rub shoulders with knitwear’s elite: the inaugural Men’s International Woolmark Prize, judged by a panel of industry heavyweights including Paul Smith and GQ UK editor Dylan Jones. We crammed into Somerset House’s Portico Rooms to watch designer duo Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne’s brand Public School NYC snap up the award for their youthful six piece collection, beating finalists Asger Juel Larsen, Sise, The Emporor 1688, and STRATEUS.CARLUCCI.

Hodges’ army of urban Boy Scouts trouped out clad in a uniform of white, black, and emergency orange, cut through with dark denim. Their long woollen coats were given a rough-and-tumble edge thanks to visible construction. Talisman trinkets, patches and flags put a playful slant on the survival theme, while languid knits and tracksuit bottoms brought the collection down to earth with a feeling of everyday normality. A sandwich board reading ‘Totally Safe Classics’ gave a nod to the old school garage soundtrack.

The evening shows got off to a lively start at Christopher Shannon, with FROW pals Nick Grimshaw and Dermot O’Leary exchanging bemused side-long glances at the plastic bags gracing the models’ heads. Outerwear was, as usual, technically superior, with navy puffers cinched under wide belts, shiny candy-striped bombers and intricate half-zipped sleeves. For me, the bag motif and consumer slogans felt a little tired. Perhaps our penchant for shopping mall parodies and fast food-inspired fashion over the last two seasons have left me jaded. Plus I can’t look at a misplaced plastic bag without thinking of the ‘wanna see the most beautiful thing I’ve ever filmed?’ line in American Beauty and supressing a snigger. Instead of a plastic corsage, I’ll be adding a ‘Shannon’-emblazoned appliqué detail sweater to my fantasy shopping list – a bolshy monochrome offering.